1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus used to communicate motive force between a plurality of rotating disks and a fluid, or conversely, may also be used to communicate motive force from a flowing fluid to a plurality of rotating disks.
2. History of Related Art
Taught first by Nikola Tesla in U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,142, (Tesla) and U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,206 (Tesla), disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In both disclosures the rotor (runner) comprises a stack of flat circular discs with spoke opening in the central portions, with the disk being set slight apart. In the propulsion embodiment, fluid enters the system at the center of the rotating discs and is transferred by means of viscous drag to the periphery where it is discharged tangentially. In the turbine embodiment, fluid enters the system tangentially at the periphery and leaves it at the center. As taught by Tesla, the use of a boundary layer (adherence and viscosity), to communicate motive force on a plurality of rotating disks improves upon the art of propulsion. Tesla teaches “It may be also be pointed out that such a pump can be made without openings and spokes in a runner by using one or more solid disks each in it's own casing to form a machine will be eminently adapted for sewage, dredging and the like, when the water is charged with foreign bodies and spokes and vanes especially objectionable”. Tesla also teaches “Besides, the employment of the usual devices for imparting to, or deriving energy from a fluid, such as positions, paddles, vanes and blades, necessary introduce numerous defects and limitations and adds to the complication, cost of production and maintenance of the machine”. Prior art has employed pin attachments, channels, and spokes to obtain a rotor design with an open center. It is considered that this arrangement of spokes, pins, channels is not desirable in propulsion or turbine for the following reasons:                (a) Pin attachments used to retain and space the plurality of rotor disks travel a perpendicular path in relation to the spiral path of the fluid flow to cause a disrupted flow pattern and generate a turbulent interference pattern to disrupt the desirable laminar flow that provides an optimal boundary layer effect for maximum uniform cohesion of the fluid to the disk(s).        (b) A disk rotor supported in a cantilever fashion to allow an open end for fluid passage through an open center provides a radius of rotation causing vibration in the fluid and disk rotor increasing boundary layer disruption.        (c) Spokes are used to attach disks to a rotating axle provide unequal mass distribution of the disks which under high speed rotation result in stress causing deformation of the disk surface, and vibration known to cause disruption of the boundary layer viscous flow and possible disk failure.        
Tesla teaches that the highest economy is obtained when for any given speed the slip should be as small as possible. As the boundary layer effect is enhanced by viscous flow reducing slip, therefore, turbulent flow reduces viscous flow increasing slip.
It is these issues that have brought about the present invention.